Airfield’s markets set to continue

POPULAR car boot sales at Crail airfield are set to continue for a further three years.

The site has hosted open air markets for nearly two decades, and councillors at the north east Fife area committee meeting on Wednesday agreed activities could continue for another three years.

The markets are held on Sundays at fortnightly intervals, between March 31 and November 30, and the new temporary permission allows car boot sales to continue on that basis.

In a report to the committee, Fife Council planner Sharon Dorward said: “Whilst it is hoped that a comprehensive development will come forward for the whole airfield, there are no current proposals.

“Any significant project would take some time to develop and implement. In the circumstances it is not considered that the use of part of the airfield or the outdoor market use would prejudice the current Local Plan proposal.”

She said allowing car boot sales on the site was “an acceptable form of temporary use”.

Crail airfield is the best preserved example of a Second World War naval airfield in Scotland. The airfield, including various features built during the World Wars and the Cold War period, is a scheduled monument. In 1958, the airfield returned to private ownership.

It is currently owned by William Robertson, from Crail, who has received a succession of temporary permissions for car boot sales dating back to May 1994. His previous consent expired at the end of January. The new permission will allow car boot sales to continue for the next three years, until February 2016.

The car boot sales at Crail can attract up to 4000 vehicles, and the number of stall holders generally ranges from 50 to 200.